Frustrations with the normative protocol occasion the rise of numerous subcultures, graffiti being one. Customarily accounted unlawful and unprincipled, with the mass adulation of Basquiat, Banksy and the like, it is now considered an art form, and widely reckoned a tool of protest. Often undertaken anonymously, graffiti exists when other means of public self-expression and conveyance of dissent are impermissible. It is, then, in most instances, subversive in character, and deftly communicates socio-political predicaments of the ones who are barred to communicate; its existence being a simultaneous intimation of a systemic deficiency to tackle the predicament addressed.
Another operation of graffiti is such: It evokes sentiments of surprise as it is often discovered unexpectedly and encountered at unfamiliar locations. So is it’s addressal. The socio-political predicaments that graffiti addresses are often the ones the public has become habituated to. For example, repeated exposure to news of sexual harassment leads the recipient of such news to normalise harassment thus becoming passive to it. Graffiti, however, is the artistic technique that presents such predicaments in an unwanted manner and space to create a vision that results in de-automatised perception. By that, it shakes the public out of a collective stupor so that they encounter sexual violence in all its startling horror, recognises the insufficiency of current political structures, and, presumably, act on what they see. It is thus an effectual means of expressing dissent and raising awareness.
Following are some instances of graffiti art against sexual harassment, from different parts of the world:
Mira Shihadeh is a contemporary Egyptian street artist, who paints to stop sexual harassment against women. Here, a woman is seen using what appears to be a mace to keep away perpetrators.
In 2015, Safecity was at Sophia College for Women, Delhi, to facilitate an art workshop and address gender-based violence through Wall Murals with 16 students of the Students for Social Reform Initiative and artist Jai Ranjit.
Graffiti found on the streets of Mexico, empowering women to report cases of sexual harassment, and promoting female freedom.
Khera is a contemporary Egyptian street artist who participated in a 2011 anti-sexual harassment campaign by spraying the provocative and powerful stencil ‘Warning! Don’t touch or castration awaits you’.
In 2015, Safecity was at Sophia College for Women, Delhi, to facilitate an art workshop and address gender-based violence through Wall Murals with 16 students of the Students for Social Reform Initiative and artist Jai Ranjit.
Shehab uses the verses of Chilean poet Neruda as a reminder of hope to all the survivors of sexual violence and harassment.
Kartika Puri, part of Safecity’s #WritersMovement, is an undergraduate student at Ashoka University, explores writerly migrations between the spheres of art, society, and politics.